By Larry Meyer, August 11, 2010
The proposed transmission would stretch 299.8 miles from a sub station near Boardman to the newly constructed Hemingway substation south of the Snake River, near Melba. Idaho Power says the new line is needed to increase its capacity. Two more joint scoping meetings will follow in Boardman today and Burns on Thursday.
An earlier process was halted after Idaho Power withdrew its initial proposed routing of the line, facing stiff opposition from residents in Idaho and Oregon because it would have taken the line through an abundance of farmland.
Working with project advisory teams, Idaho Power came up with a new route and because it is a new proposal, a new process leading to a decision was required by both agencies. The new route in Idaho and Malheur County skirts most of the farmland, staying mainly on public land.
In Malheur County, the line would cross about 23 miles of private land and about 46 miles of BLM land, crossing a total of about 70 miles through the county.
According to Sue Oliver, energy facility analyst for DOE, Idaho Power will be applying for site certification with the review process conducted by Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council. . .
While the analysis for EIS will include the private land, as well as public land, the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and decision will only be on public land, John Styduhar, federal project manager, said. In their review following the scoping, federal agencies will develop a range of alternatives for analysis, Styduhar said. Those alternatives could include structure design or some mitigation of impacts which can’t be avoided. . .
The deadline for sending comments to both agencies is Sept. 27 and can be made via the comment sites on the project Web page, e-mail, regular mail or fax.
ONTARIO — Oregon Department of Energy and Bureau of Land Management officials have restarted their decision-making processes regarding Idaho Power’s proposed 500 kilo-volt transmission line which, if approved-will cross five eastern Oregon counties, including Malheur, and into Owyhee County in Idaho, holding the sixth public meeting in Ontario Tuesday at the Four Rivers Cultural Center.
The proposed transmission would stretch 299.8 miles from a sub station near Boardman to the newly constructed Hemingway substation south of the Snake River, near Melba. Idaho Power says the new line is needed to increase its capacity. Two more joint scoping meetings will follow in Boardman today and Burns on Thursday.
An earlier process was halted after Idaho Power withdrew its initial proposed routing of the line, facing stiff opposition from residents in Idaho and Oregon because it would have taken the line through an abundance of farmland.
Working with project advisory teams, Idaho Power came up with a new route and because it is a new proposal, a new process leading to a decision was required by both agencies. The new route in Idaho and Malheur County skirts most of the farmland, staying mainly on public land.
In Malheur County, the line would cross about 23 miles of private land and about 46 miles of BLM land, crossing a total of about 70 miles through the county.
According to Sue Oliver, energy facility analyst for DOE, Idaho Power will be applying for site certification with the review process conducted by Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council. . .
While the analysis for EIS will include the private land, as well as public land, the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and decision will only be on public land, John Styduhar, federal project manager, said. In their review following the scoping, federal agencies will develop a range of alternatives for analysis, Styduhar said. Those alternatives could include structure design or some mitigation of impacts which can’t be avoided. . .
The deadline for sending comments to both agencies is Sept. 27 and can be made via the comment sites on the project Web page, e-mail, regular mail or fax.
